You will find this
blog post (link below) interesting on recent rather bizarre flamingo movements
(mostly Lessers with a small number of Greaters) in the Okavango Delta.
http://www.we-are-wilderness.com/2012/09/14/phenomenal-flamingo-movements-in-the-okavango-delta/
Greater Flamingo
The Greater Flamingo - Phoenicopterus
roseus - is the most widespread flamingo. It is found in Africa, Southern
Asia and Southern Europe. The preferred
habitat is mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons. It is the state bird of Gujarat, India.
Description
This is the largest species of
flamingo. Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red
and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. They have long, lean,
curved necks and black-tipped bills with a distinctive downward bend.
The bill is pink and the legs are
entirely pink. Their bent bills allow them to feed on small organisms—plankton,
tiny fish, fly larvae, etc. In muddy flats or shallow water, they use their
long legs and webbed feet to stir up the bottom. They then bury their bills, or
even their entire heads, and suck up both mud and water to access the tasty
morsels within. A flamingo's beak has a filter-like structure to remove food
from the water before the liquid is expelled. Shrimplike crustaceans are
responsible for the flamingo's pink color.
Call
Greater Flamingos have a loud,
deep honking call that is similar to that of a goose. They call loudly during
courtship but they have a quieter call while they are feeding.
Food
It mainly eats small
invertebrates, such as brine shrimps (Artemia), brine flies (Ephydra),
molluscs and diatoms, foraging by holding its bill upside down in waist-high
water. Its large tongue pumps water in and out, while small filaments at the
edge of its bill filter out food.
Breeding
Greater flamingos also breed
while gathered in groups. Egg-laying season starts in November, peaking from
January-February. Once mating is complete, a pair takes turns incubating their
single chalky-white egg for roughly 27 to 31 days. The nest built mainly by the
male is a mud mound. The chicks are brooded for the first 3 to 4 days of their
lives, leaving the nest at 5 to 10 days old to join a crèche. They are fed by
both parents with a glandular secretion and take first flight at about 75-80
days old. Young flamingos are born gray and white and do not turn pink for two
years. In years when wetlands and pools are dry and food scarce, flamingoes may
not breed.
Conservation Status – Least Concern
Not threatened globally, althoughNear-threatened in South Africa
and Vulnerable in Namibia,
largely due to lowering water tables at major breeding sites and collision with
power lines.
Birdwatching
These striking birds can be seen
on the following Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -
Aves Highlands / Tembe Birding Tour / Safari /
Adventure.
Aves KZN Birding Tour / Safari /
Adventure.
Aves North East Birding Tour /
Safari / Adventure.
Aves North West Birding Tour / Safari /
Adventure.
Aves Western Cape Birding
Tour / Safari / Adventure.
Aves West Coast Birding Tour /
Safari /Adventure.